


Chemistry

by gay_for_rey1999



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: M/M, bc sweet pea is a gay nerd, lab partners au, more or less, recreating that gay ass star wars scene from tfa, study date at pops, turns into a regular date
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2018-07-05
Packaged: 2019-06-05 13:41:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15171917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gay_for_rey1999/pseuds/gay_for_rey1999
Summary: What happens when Sweet Pea gets paired up with Fangs Fogarty, his long-time crush, for a chemistry assignment?





	Chemistry

**Author's Note:**

> Finally, I posted something! I've been in a creativity drought lately so I'm very excited to be posting this :)

Sweet Pea gave a soft sigh as he sent another glance toward the table at the edge of the cafeteria. It was occupied by two people- Toni Topaz and Fangs Fogarty. Sweet Pea’s gaze was trained on the latter. Fangs was an incredibly handsome latino boy, a few inches shorter than him, with god-like cheekbones and perfectly styled hair that was always gelled back impeccably without looking greasy. In a word, he was beautiful and way out of Sweet Pea’s league.

 

His basketball teammates liked to tease him about the way he always froze around Fangs, or how a light blush would stain his cheeks every time his name came up. He was usually a cool and collected guy, but whenever he was near Fangs, he transformed into a bumbling, clumsy disaster. It was rather embarrassing, truth be told, since he prided himself on his ability to keep calm under pressure. But if the pressure came in the form of Southside’s biggest theater nerd, all bets were off. 

 

Sweet Pea forced his attention back to whatever his teammates were talking about. Jeremy, his closest friend on the team, gave him a knowing smirk.

 

“Staring at the nerd again, Pea?” He teased. “Pretty soon he’s gonna notice and get freaked out by your owl eyes.”

 

“Shut up,” Sweet Pea groused, turning faintly pink. “I’m not  _ that _ bad. Am I?”

 

“Not that bad?  _ Not that bad? _ ” Another teammate joined the conversation. “We  _ are _ talking about Fogarty, right? You stare across the cafeteria every day, looking at him like he hung the fucking moon. You go to every play-- at  _ least  _ twice. You won’t shut up about how you think it’s ‘so cool’ he started the LGBT club with Topaz. You stare at the back of his head all throughout chem every. single. day. His hair isn’t that interesting, Sweets. You’ve got it  _ bad _ .” He continued on, gesticulating with his entire body to prove his point.

 

“Why can’t you just talk to him?” Jeremy prompted. “Join that club or ask him for chem notes or something.”

 

“And essentially forget how to speak?” He countered sharply. “I don’t think so. But, I do want to join that club after the season is over. Until then, I just have to keep my cool.”

 

“Like you had any to begin with!”

 

\---

 

_ Fuck. _

 

Sweet Pea felt his entire face burning red with embarrassment as he read the partner listings on the whiteboard in chemistry. Somewhere in the middle of the long list of names, there it was. 

 

Sweet Pea, Fangs Fogarty

 

_ Fuck. _

 

He gathered his books and made his way,as slowly as possible, to their assigned lab table, hoping he wouldn’t trip over his own two feet. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jeremy flash him an encouraging thumbs up. A blush crossed his face, high on his cheekbones for the umpteeth time that day. 

 

“Hey,” Sweet Pea said shyly as he set his books carefully on the table. 

 

“Hi,” Fangs answered. Sweet Pea couldn’t help but notice a slight blush on the other boy’s cheeks as well. The professor handed out the worksheets that would guide them through the week-long lab assignment.They read it over carefully. 

 

Class went by too quickly for Sweet Pea’s liking. He and Fangs worked remarkably well together, answering all the pre-lab questions and making light conversation in between. 

 

“Hey,” Sweet Pea said, before he could stop himself. “Do you want to meet at Pop’s later, to start on our write up?”

 

“That sounds great,” the other boy replied cheerfully. “Does seven work for you? I know you have basketball practice every day.”

 

“Seven sounds perfect,” Sweet Pea responded, cringing at the eagerness dripping from his voice “I’ll see you then.”

 

Jeremy was waiting for him just outside the door. They started down the hall together and he punched Sweet Pea’s shoulder excitedly. 

 

“See? I told you you could do it! Now you have a date!”

 

“Relax, J,” the taller boy sighed. “It’s not a date, we’re going to start on the write up.”

 

“But it’s a study date, right? And at Riverdale’s prime date location? It’s a date, Pea.”

 

“Stop, you’re going to psych me out. It isn’t a date, we’re just going to do the chem homework.”

 

“And discover the chemistry between the two of you?” Jeremy teased, raising his eyebrows suggestively, earning an eye roll before getting shoved playfully into the lockers. 

 

\---

 

After checking that his hair was smoothed down for the millionth time in his visor mirror, Sweet Pea reached into the backseat and grabbed his backpack. He walked slowly into the diner, trying to calm his overexcited nerves. His mind was going into overdrive at the possibilities the night held. He was  _ actually  _ going to be spending time with Fangs. During a study session. At Pop’s.

 

As soon as he made it through the door, his eyes found Fangs in one of the worn vinyl  booths. His feet carried him there before his mind could catch up He sat down nervously on the opposite side of the booth and the other boy glanced up from his phone in surprise. 

 

“I didn’t expect you to be so-- punctual,” Fangs chuckled, pocketing his phone and pulling out his chem notebook and laptop. 

 

“I definitely like to be on time,” Sweet Pea replied somewhat awkwardly. “Should we order?” He changed the topic quickly. “I’m starving after practice.”

 

Fangs agreed and timidly waved over a waitress. The kind waitress took their order and he was surprised to find out that Fangs was a strawberry milkshake person. Sweet Pea had always assumed he was a chocolate fan. He himself was a proud member of Team Vanilla. 

 

In his distracted thoughts about the boy sitting across from him, he downed a quarter of his shake and felt a brain freeze creeping up on him. His face screwed up as he embraced the dull pain in his head. 

 

“Rub your tongue back and forth along the roof of your mouth,” Fangs advised, surprising Sweet Pea. “For brain freeze,” he explained when Sweet Pea only looked at him in confusion. 

 

He followed his advice, and was relieved to feel the pain already ebbing away. “Thanks, I’ve never heard of that before,” he laughed. “So your favorite flavor is strawberry?”

 

“Oh, yeah,” Fangs blushed a little, dropping his gaze to his hands, where he was fidgeting with the straw wrapper. “My sisters make fun of me for it, but chocolate is too rich, and vanilla, no offense, just isn’t as exciting.”

 

“None taken,” Sweet Pea assured him brightly. “I didn’t know you have sisters. How old are they?”

 

“Both are in middle school. The hormones in my house are unreal, but I would do anything for them.” Fangs’ face lit up as he talked about his family, and Sweet Pea’s heart swelled for the sweet boy in front of him. “What about you,” he asked suddenly, breaking him from his reverie. “Do you have any siblings?”

 

“Nah, it’s just me and my mom since my dad went overseas,” he sighed. “And she works night shifts at the hospital, so I don’t see her much. But when I do, we have a good time.”

 

They were interrupted by the arrival of their food. Sweet Pea’s mouth watered at the sight of the picturesque burger and heaping pile of fries. He intended to eat every last bite, as well as an extra order of onion rings he would get later. 

 

“Hey, so I have a question about the LGBT club,” Sweet Pea piped up after finishing a third of his burger in three bites. 

 

Fangs looked surprised, and covered his mouth politely with his hand before replying, “Of course, what do you want to know?”

 

“So, I really wanted to join at the beginning of the year, but it conflicted with basketball preseason. Am I too late, or can I join after the season?”

 

“That’s not a problem at all,” Fangs said happily. “We don’t really have official meetings, to be honest. Most of the time, it’s just us goofing around and creating a safe space for other members of the LGBT community. The school psychologist is the sponsor and he really doesn’t give a shit about what we do.” The two boys shared a smile, and Sweet Pea felt hope blooming like a rose in spring inside his chest. 

 

“But I do have to add,” Fangs continued, “We would prefer that people who come are actually LGBT, not just allies. I mean, straight allies are welcome, but there’s a certain vibe there that straight people just don’t  _ get _ , you know?”

 

“I totally get that, believe me,” Sweet Pea laughed. “I play sports with a ton of straight guys who always talk about how they ‘don't have a problem’ with me being gay, but in the end, they simply don't understand what it's like.”

 

They finished their food quickly, passing the time with light conversation. Sweet Pea was in over his head with Fangs. He checked off literally every box for him. He was smart, sweet, polite, incredibly handsome, and he kept making him laugh. 

 

“Here, why don’t you move on this side so we can both see the screen,” Fangs suggested as they set to work on their write up. 

 

Sweet Pea swallowed nervously, but dutifully got up as Fangs scooched over, making room for the tall boy. They sat a little closer together than usual, and every time their knees brushed together, Sweet Pea felt his heart rate pick up. They spent at least an hour agonizing over detail and lamenting the extra steps they had to take to ensure a thorough write up. 

 

When they finally wrapped up, it was nearing 9:00. As they packed up, Sweet Pea remembered the fact that Fangs usually took the bus to school. 

 

“Do you have a ride home,” he asked in a way that he hoped wasn’t too eager. 

 

“No,” Fangs answered sheepishly. “I walked here.”

 

“I can drive you home, if you like,” Sweet Pea offered immediately.

 

“That’s okay, Pea,” he insisted, slinging his bag over his shoulder. “It’s really not far.”

 

“I’ll walk you home, then.” They both paused at the conviction in his voice. “If you want, I mean,” he added, a little embarrassed. 

 

“You know what, I’d really like that,” Fangs agreed with a soft smile. 

 

The two boys waved to Pop before heading out together. Fangs began to walk toward the south side of town, and Sweet Pea followed him, matching his pace easily. It took every ounce of self control not to reach out to grab Fangs’ hand, which was swinging lightly by his side. 

 

They were a few blocks away from the diner when he noticed Fangs shivering a little out of the corner of his eye. He moved his arms to cross over his chest, and his teeth chattered a little. Without realizing what he was doing, Sweet Pea shrugged out of his jacket and held it out for the shorter boy. 

 

“Here, you’re freezing.”

 

“I’m fine, Sweet Pea,” Fangs protested, “But thanks.”

 

“No, I’m serious, your teeth are chattering,” Sweet Pea argued, already draping the jacket over his shoulders. 

 

Fangs had no choice but to accept the varsity jacket, and pulled it on fully. The material swamped him a little, and Sweet Pea swore it was the best thing he had ever seen. There was an unmistakable blush on Fangs’ cheeks, and his body shivered one last time as he drew the jacket closer around his buff frame. Even with all his muscle mass (which Sweet Pea had been ogling generously), the sleeves ended past his hands, and the bottom hem fell to his upper thighs. 

 

Only a short block later, they stopped outside a small house and Fangs turned to look at him. 

 

“Thanks for walking me home, Pea, I really appreciate it,” he said shyly, rocking a little on his heels and fidgeting with the too-long sleeves of Sweet Pea's jacket. “I’m glad we got paired up for this assignment.”

 

“Me too,” Sweet Pea smiled at him, clapping a hand on his shoulder. The action seemed to remind him that he was still wearing the letterman jacket. He went to take it off, but Sweet Pea stilled his hands with his own. “Hang on to it. It suits you,” he found himself saying, not sure if he meant to essentially recreate the scene from Star Wars or not. 

 

In his gay panic, he didn’t notice Fangs reaching up on his toes to kiss his cheek. He froze on the spot, skin already tingling from where the other boy’s lips had been a mere second before. Before he could stop himself, Sweet Pea was cupping his cheek and swooping down for a kiss. Stars exploded behind his eyelids the moment his lips touched Fangs’, both boys relaxing into the kiss right away. 

 

Kissing Fangs was something Sweet Pea never actually expected to do. He had thought about it, dreamed about it, fantasized about it constantly, but he  _ never  _ thought he would get this far. His other hand came up to cup the other side of his face, and Fangs planted his own on Sweet Pea’s chest and in his hair, respectively. 

 

He felt Fangs’ tongue flick against his lips, and he parted them happily, letting out a small moan as their tongues stroked together. They continued to kiss languidly for long moments, until the porch light flicked on, and Fangs jumped back. 

 

“Shit, my mom,” he laughed breathlessly. “I better get inside.” He leaned up to peck Sweet Pea’s lips before opening the door. “Thanks again for walking me home, and lending me your jacket,” he smiled bashfully. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

 

“Yeah, tomorrow,” Sweet Pea repeated, still dazed from their kiss. He couldn’t fucking wait for tomorrow.

**Author's Note:**

> So we all know the gay Star Wars scene, yes? With Finn and Poe in The Force Awakens? Good.
> 
> Also, I'm considering a part two for this one shot, since I still have so many headcanons about it. What do you guys think?


End file.
